After a long campaign by locals, the Murujuga rock art in Australia has been granted UNESCO World Heritage status.
The Murujuga rock art is located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The rocks boast of some of the oldest human-made art in the world, much older than the Pyramids of Giza. The rock features more than a million petroglyphs, as well as the oldest drawing of a human face in the world, dating back 50,000 years.
The care for the rock art has been primarily carried about by a group of Ngada-Ngarli indigenous groups and other Aboriginal peoples. For many decades, they have campaigned for the protection of the site. In 2023, the Australian government finally made a bid for the Murujuga rock art for UNESCO World Heritage status. The decision finally came through last week. Speaking on the news, Raelene Cooper, a Pilbara traditional owner, said: “This is a momentous day for our old people and our future generations to have Murujuga’s outstanding universal heritage values recognized by the world. Our rock art tells the stories of our people, and maintains our songlines and bloodline connection to our ngurra.”
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The rock art faces the risk of damage primarily from the nearby petrochemical plants. The plants have been in operation since the 1980s but have recently sought approval for expansion (which the government conditionally granted). While the Australian government maintains that the Murujuga rock art is in good condition, the ICOMOS (an advisory body to UNESCO) had earlier claimed that the site was vulnerable to the emissions from the gas plants.
